


All it takes is you and me and a song

by IJustMetAGirlNamedMaria (orphan_account)



Category: The Prom (2020), The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Emma teaches Alyssa how to play guitar, F/F, Internalized Homophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:34:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24195208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/IJustMetAGirlNamedMaria
Summary: Emma teaches Alyssa how to play guitar. Alyssa is H e t e r o s e x u a l excuse you.
Relationships: Alyssa Greene & Greg, Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan, Greg & Emma Nolan (The Prom Musical), Greg/Kevin (The Prom Musical)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 37





	All it takes is you and me and a song

Proven proficiency in a musical instrument, or three semesters of music class offering extra credit!

Alyssa Greene was good at a lot of things, but art was not one of them. She could memorize pages of textbooks like nobody's business, do a hundred push-ups, and argue why the sky was green, but when she picked up a paint brush, or an instrument, all her skills melted away. She didn't like to do things she wasn't good at. She wasn't allowed to be bad at things, that was for kids who got Bs.

Alyssa knew she could just not do the credit. It would be fine. But she had a 89 in chemistry, and if she was going to have an B she had better also have some extra credit work. She had perfectly weighted classes. Her mom insisted on it. After all, her mom had gone to Harvard. Her dad had gone to Harvard. They had literally met at Harvard. Alyssa wasn't going to be the defect that didn't. If she just pretended like her dad didn't already defected off to Missouri, like her mom had. She still told people he moved for his job.  
Alyssa remembered the night he left. She remembered the screaming. She remembered her mom, head in her hands like she had just given up on everything. He didn't even say goodbye to Alyssa.  
Alyssa loved her mom. She understood she told herself stories to survive. One of those stories was that he was going to eventually come back. And when he did, he was going to see their daughter heading off to a perfect college. Alyssa knew her father wasn't coming back. But she wasn't going to be the one to tell her mom. So, art credit.

James Madison hardly even had an art program. They had no drama class, and the Art teacher had onion breath. He had a counter in the corner, how many days until he retired. They half heartedly hosted a talent show assembly freshman year which ended up showcasing more the lack of talent. They had a mediocre band program with only three kids in it.

It was only that one girl, Emma. She preformed at the talent show. Her voice was so clear and sweet. Her hand expertly navigated the guitar, producing soft notes, only slightly distorted by the microphone. She was so wrapped up in the song, she only opened her eyes at the end. Alyssa felt a bit of that breathless feeling every time she saw Emma in the halls after that. She always wondered if Emma knew Alyssa was the only one that clapped.

After the assembly, Alyssa followed Emma's YouTube channel. She would play her music when she couldn't sleep, or when she was studying. Sometimes she would just watch it over and over, noticing different things each time. The Percy Jackson poster on her wall, her post song smile, the way her golden curls were backlit by the soft glow of a lava lamp in the corner. Listening to her voice was something magical. That girl was going somewhere, not in the way Alyssa was. Alyssa was getting pushed out the front door to Better Things. Emma was going to better things because she was just better. Alyssa had a bit of a fantasy, where they meet each other years later, in a different city. Then they could finally be friends.

The only thing the kids at school bothered to know was that Emma was a homosexual. Everyone knew the story, that her parents kicked her out, that she lives with her grandma now. People have mixed views on the ethics of the situation. Alyssa's God loved all his children. That's what the bible said. She read it in 5th grade because a boy said she couldn't. She bought her own, because even then she knew her church edited theirs. Plus this one had a purple cover. Nowhere did it say that being gay was a sin. She tried to explain it to her mother, who said they could agree to disagree. The night after that conversation, Alyssa stared at the ceiling for hours, formulating a million arguments. But it didn't matter, so she dropped it. There was no point in unnecessary conflict. It was the only two lessons her father's leaving ever taught her.  
Emma's story confirmed the other. Sometimes, love really can be conditional.

Alyssa sat at the dinner table, studying, and looked up. Her mom danced in the kitchen, humming to herself. She hadn't seen her dance since Alyssa's dad left. His absence consumed the room sometimes. Alyssa smiled, taking in the moment. She really loved her mother. Maybe love was all about finding that condition. Alyssa brought up Emma's video. A cover of a song called "watch you sleep." It was less creepy than the title implied. It was about lying in bed with someone you love. Emma's eyes stayed closed the whole time, like she had the song memorized. She smiled softly. Maybe love was looking past your own conditions. Alyssa restarted the video.

Alyssa knew she was supposed to find the whole concept of homosexuality demented, but instead she was curious. It was how she learned, after all. Alyssa half wondered what it was like to kiss a girl. She had kissed boys before, but not since middle school. Plus, highschool boys weren't attractive. All the hot guys were in college, so she had been told. Maybe she would date in college. Alyssa had no interest in dating in high school. She was focused on her studies. And on getting this art credit. 

She would have to become proficient in an instrument in the two years she had left at James Madison, as she couldn't drop one of her electives for three semesters. She couldn't ask her mom for money for expensive music lessons, they were tight enough for money as it was and Alyssa didn't want to be another burden on her long suffering mother. Alyssa would have to pay for tutoring herself, but first she had to find someone who knew how to play guitar.

The answer was of course obvious. No one could play like Emma could. Alyssa internally debated how to ask a girl she had pretty much never spoken outside of school to tutor her. In all likelihood, Emma hated her. Alyssa's friends were terrible to her, and Alyssa never did anything about it. Sure, she had tried to stop them, but they never listened to her. The one time she told them off Kaylee asked if she was "Gay or something." That was enough to shut Alyssa up. She knew that gay shouldn't be an insult, but for some reason that shook her. Alyssa wasn't gay. She thought. Who could be sure. She couldn't be. Didn't have the option to be if she was. It didn't matter. All that mattered was the waiver. And Emma. 

Emma sat at the entrance of school during football practices. She left a few minutes before they ended, and Alyssa could never figure out why. The cheerleading squad normally practiced in the gym during football practice, and Alyssa saw Emma waiting outside everyday.  
Alyssa shouldered her bag and pulled down her skirt. She checked her eyeliner in the mirror and fluffed her curls. Her heart was beating unreasonably fast. Alyssa rolled her eyes at her reflection and walked out of the locker room. Down the hall, outside. Like clockwork, Emma sat with her guitar case and a book, hidden from the rain that drizzled down. Her hair was so curly. The hazy light from inside the school almost haloed her. Alyssa stepped outside. It wasn't cold, but she was suddenly aware of how much skin her uniform showed.

"Hi," Alyssa waved at her.  
Emma jumped. She took out her headphones and smiled cautiously.  
"Hey," she said.  
"What're you reading?" Alyssa pointed to her book.  
"Oh! Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." Emma adjusted her glasses. Wire pink frames.  
"Wait really? Gosh, I love those books! What house are you?" Alyssa sat down next to her.  
Emma smiled shyly. "Hufflepuff."  
"Oh!"  
"Oh? Are you surprised?" Emma cocked her eyebrow.  
Alyssa smiled.  
"I just assumed you were Gryffindor."  
Emma laughed.  
"I'm almost offended." Her eyes crinkled. They were blue. "I'm definitely a hufflepuff."  
"I guess that makes sense. You have a hufflepuff aesthetic." Emma's eyes were blue. Emma's eyes were blue.  
Emma touched her glasses.  
"It's the hair right?"  
"Perhaps." She really did have nice hair. Honey gold.  
"You're a Ravenclaw." Emma said matter of factly. "Right?"  
"Yeah actually. I had a bit of a crisis a few years back, and landed on Ravenclaw."  
"Why a crisis?"  
"I kept getting different answers!"  
Emma laughed softly. The kind where she smiled and her body shook, but no sound came out.  
"Honestly I think you could be any of them. You're smart, you're kind, you're certainty ambitious. Definitely brave."  
Alyssa's heart pounded. She thinks I'm brave she thinks I'm brave she thinks I'm-  
"I'm not brave."  
"Please, I've seen you cheer. Not for the faint of heart," Emma smiled.  
Oh.  
"And they say it's not a sport."  
Emma frowned, like that was unbelievable.  
"Who? Who says that?"  
"Oh you know, the football guys."  
"Ah. Yeah those guys are jerks." Emma looked down at her book. Alyssa's heart beat double time. Great. She made her uncomfortable. Now Emma would hate her extra.  
"Definitely not hufflepuffs. Well maybe Kevin." Alyssa said offhand.  
Emma smiled, biting her lip. She looked up as if with a response, but she met Alyssa's eyes and her mouth just hung open for a moment. Alyssa stared back. There was a moment of shared electricity. Emma blinked.  
"So, uh, what brings you to these- Um- why are you here? No offense."  
Alyssa had to take a second to remember.  
"Colleges like fluency in instruments, you're the best player I know." Emma smiled shyly. She shook her head.  
"Aren't you a sophomore?"  
"Yep. Can you teach me to play?"  
Emma fiddled with the straps of her case.  
"Ok."  
Alyssa slumped dramatically, relieved. Emma giggled.  
"Oh perfect! I can do $10 an hour?"  
Emma nodded.  
"Here, put your number in my phone, I'll text you."  
Their hands brushed for a moment.  
"Jesus! Your hands are cold!" Emma exclaimed.  
"Oh! Yeah, I have cold hands." Alyssa laughed, examining her hands. She had painted her nails red last week and they were beginning to chip.  
"Here." Emma took Alyssa's hand in hers.  
Emma's hands were warm and calloused. She smelled like old spice deodorant and flowery conditioner. Alyssa's brain had room for only those two thoughts.  
"Thanks." She managed.  
"Alyssa?"  
"Yeah?"  
"I think you're actually a hufflepuff."  
Alyssa laughed.  
"Why?"  
"You're the only one who's ever been nice to me."  
"I-" How did anyone have eyelashes that long and Emma's mouth was open a little and how had she never noticed she had a little bit of freckles and Emma's cheeks were pinkish. Alyssa's stomach dropped. Goosebumps pricked her arms. From the cold. Probably.  
"Alyssa! PRACTICE IS STARTING! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Kaylee shrieked from the hall.  
Alyssa glanced behind her, pulling her hands away.  
"Um-"  
"Here." Emma handed her back her phone. It was warm where her hands held the case.  
"Thank you, again. You're really saving my butt here."  
Emma smiled softly.  
"Of course."  
"I have to go." Alyssa blurted.  
"Bye!"  
"Goodbye!"  
Alyssa tried to imprint Emma's eyes into her brain. She realized she'd been staying a moment too long. She awkwardly waved and ran away, heart pounding. All through practice, the feeling of Emma's warm hands around hers distracted her.


End file.
